6 questions we always ask — Christa

Christa is one of my favorite writers and I’m so honored that she’s going to participate here. Her blog blah-blah-blahler should zoom to the top of your must-read list. Not only is Christa the funniest woman in Duluth, but she’s also wry and observant, and she sees life a little bit differently than everyone else (which is a good thing).

What book(s) are you currently reading?
I am reading All the Sad Literary Men by Keith Gessen, from the unofficial Gawker summer reading list I made up that included Sloane Crosley and nonsociety.com — I hate when they obsess over someone I haven’t been following. On deck: Much anticipation for The Klosterman.

Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character? Who?
A steamy girl-crush on Lady Brett Ashley from The Sun Also Rises, in her cute little jerseys, hanging out with the chaps and ruining bullfighters. Such a charmer. So sassy.

If your favorite author came to Minnesota, who would it be and what bar would you take him/her to?
Can this visit happen in like 1986? [ed note: Hell yes, who am I to suddenly impose some sort of logic into this question?] I would like to spend a sunny day in a dark red upholstered Chinese restaurant with Jay McInerney and Brett Easton Ellis. Eating fried wontons and drinking cheap red wine in bulk. Stumble out onto Superior Street in Duluth and wander down to RT Quinlan’s, through the backdoor so it feels like we are at a speakeasy. Snag a booth on the lower level and people watch.

What was your first favorite book?
The Encyclopedia Brown books. I gave a set to my niece for Christmas and realized that if she said just the title of a chapter, for instance, “The Happy Nephew” I could remember how the case was solved. [Spoiler alert: The hood of the car should be too hot for the toddler to walk across if the driver had in fact just gotten home!] The first book I loved as an adult was The Awakening by Kate Chopin.

Let’s say Fahrenheit 451 comes to life, which book would you become in order to save it from annihilation?The Great Gatsby, because I’ve always liked the scene where Jordan Baker is driving wild and Nick tells her she should be more careful or not drive at all and she says she doesn’t need to be careful because other people are.
“They’ll keep out of my way,” she insisted. “It takes two to make an accident.”
“Suppose you met somebody just as careless as yourself?”
“I hope I never will,” she answered. “I hate careless people. That’s why I like you.”

What is one book you haven’t read but want to before you die?Underworld by Don Delillo. I’ve tried reading this book six times at least and I always love what I am reading. Then I return to it more and more slowly, and soon I have forgotten what is going on. And I always hate restarting it because it begins with about 30 pages about the 1951 National League pennant race, which is a great story and a fun part of the book. But considering re-reading it again always stops me from starting Underworld again. Skip it, you say? If I’m going to read it, I need to read it all from start to finish.

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Jodi Chromey

I was the kind of girl who kept an obsessive list of statistics about her Sweet Valley High collection and would take great pride in being able to recite plot synopses for each one from memory. Really. Sadly, nobody ever asked me to recite them.